with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Feta

At the end of a long work day, I often come home tired and hungry. I don’t have the patience or energy to cook up anything too elaborate but I still crave a big bowl of delicious. That’s why pasta is one of my best friends.

Easy pasta doesn’t have to be as boring as spaghetti with red sauce. As long as you have a few flavorful ingredients on hand, you can make a delicious pasta dish in about 15 minutes.

In fact, the most difficult part of this recipe is having the patience to wait for the pasta to finish cooking! I usually have all the ingredients chopped and ready to go by the time the pasta water is boiling.

To make things even easier, I keep a container of minced parsley in the fridge. At the Sunday farmer’s market, I’ll buy a big bunch of parsley for less than a dollar. As soon as I get home, I wash it, de-stem it and mince it up and keep it in a sealed plastic container in the fridge. Not only will you have parsley for your pasta, but you’ll have it on hand for any other fun things you’d like to sprinkle green flavor confetti on. Eggs, tofu, pizza, salads, sandwiches, whatever!

I used refrigerated pre-cooked store-bought lentils because of time constraints, but if you were to cook a batch of lentils yourself at the beginning of the week, you’d be ahead of me. You could even freeze them into portions for future pasta nights or other tasty applications.

I love kale in pasta dishes because it has a great meaty texture. I simply cut the lower stems off and then chop up the rest, stems and all. If you’re scared of kale, you could always use a more tender green such as spinach or arugula, just note that it will take a fraction of the time to cook, so add it later and cook it for only about 30 seconds.

Hearty Lentil Kale Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and FetaServes 3-4

About 10 pitted Green Olives, minced

1/2 cup Oil-Packed Sun Dried Tomatoes, 1/4″ sliced

1/3 cup minced fresh Parsley

1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 cup chopped Feta Cheese

5 cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tsp dried Basil

Fresh ground Pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked French Lentils

4 Cups Kale, chopped

1/2 lb Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, prep all of your ingredients.

When water is at a rapid boil, add the pasta. Cook until slightly firmer than desired, about 8 minutes. Add the Kale, stir and cook for about 2 additional minutes.

Turn off stove burner and drain the pasta save for a few tablespoons of the pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot. Add all the remaining ingredients. Stir until everything is evenly incorporated.